Missing women inquiry launched
Lack of NWT rep on commission questioned
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, August 8, 2016
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
The Native Women's Association of the NWT is disappointed with a lack of territorial representation on the National Inquiry Into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, says the association's executive director.
Women of the Metis Nation President Melanie Omeniho, is joined by Indigenous Peoples' Assembly of Canada National Chief Dwight Dorey, Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, Amnesty International Canada Secretary-General Alex Neve, KAIROS Canada Representative Ed Bianchi, and president Lavell-Harvard of Native Women's Association of Canada at a Aug. news conference regarding the launch of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. - photo courtesy of the NWAC |
"We are disappointed," said Alisa Praamsma. "We have a very diverse group within the NWT and they each have their own identities and practices."
The inquiry was officially launched on Aug. 3 with the naming of five commissioners; Chief Commissioner Marion Buller from Saskatchewan, Michele Audette from Quebec, Qajaq Robinson from Nunavut, Brian Eyolfson from Ontario and Marilyn Poitras, also from Saskatchewan.
"I think that there is a disappointment that the NWT isn't going to be represented and a concern that the North isn't being adequately represented either," Praamsma said.
While the NWT isn't represented, Nunavut is.
Robinson is a lawyer from Iglulik, Nunavut but she's not Inuit - and that has some people concerned.
"In 2016 it is not acceptable that the Inuit women of Canada do not have an Inuk as a commissioner," stated Pauktuutit president Rebecca Kudloo in a news release after the announcement.
Pauktuutit is the national representative organization of Inuit women in Canada and is based in Ottawa.
Not everyone agrees with Kudloo's criticism, however.
"I think that she's more than capable of filling the role of commissioner. She is very familiar with our culture, our values, our way of life," said Madeleine Redfern, mayor of Iqaluit, who also served as executive director of the Qikiqtani Truth Commission.
Born in Iqaluit and raised in Iglulik, Robinson is also vice-president of Tungasuvvingat Inuit, providing cultural and wellness programs to Inuit in Ottawa.
This gives Native Women's Association of Canada president Dawn Lavell-Harvard hope that the inquiry might lead to changes in the systemic issues that created this crisis.
She said that until the RCMP released a report in 2014, stating that 1,181 indigenous women were killed or went missing across Canada between 1980 and 2012, there was an unwillingness to even admit there was a problem.
"I think people don't believe it because people don't want to believe it. They don't want to believe that this could happen in Canada" Lavell-Harvard said.
She said this is the end result of a longer history of colonial violence that's woven into Canadian society.
"You only need to look at the British North American Act or the Indian Act to see how the gendered belief of the notion that women were property and that men were superior was essentially written right into much of that early legislation. There's a long history of oppression and exploitation not only of women but of indigenous peoples, so indigenous women end up in the most vulnerable situation," she said.
"We really need to look at how so many of our institutional structures and so many aspects of our society are based on colonial ideologies."
This is especially crucial in the smaller, isolated communities. But Lavell-Harvard says the systemic problems cannot be left to the indigenous community alone.
"It will help Canadian society to see how indigenous peoples are in the position they're in not because they're stupid, drunk, lazy, whatever is on that list of stereotypes, but because they have been oppressed and exploited for generations now," she said.
Meanwhile, families in NWT are also discouraged by a lack of communication between those heading the inquiry and the associations that have been working directly with families.
"There hasn't been any communication with the NWT, at least with the grassroots organizations like ours, which have connection with the families who are impacted ... who have lost family members and loved ones," Praamsma said. "There hasn't been any communication at all."
Caroline Cochrane, MLA for Range Lake and minister responsible for the status of women, said regional advisory committees will be established throughout the territory to help facilitate the inquiry.
As of December 2015, five aboriginal women in the NWT were the victims of unsolved homicides, according to RCMP Const. Elenore Sturko. There are also eight unsolved missing persons cases involving aboriginal women, three of whom are believed to be the victims of foul play.
The Nunavut Department of Justice wasn't able at press time to provide exact numbers on the number of murdered or missing women from Nunavut.
The inquiry is expected to take about two years to complete.
The federal government has pledged about $54 million for the inquiry.
- with files from Jessica Davey-Quantick
